Monthly Archive: January 2017

“At last the lake burst upon us–a noble sheet of blue water lifted six thousand three hundred feet above the level of the sea, and walled in by a rim of snow-clad mountain peaks that towered aloft three thousand feet higher still! As it lay there with the shadows of the mountains brilliantly photographed upon its still surface, I thought it must surely be the fairest picture the whole world affords.” Mark Twain on Lake Tahoe, Roughing It, 1861

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“It could probably be shown by facts and figures that there is no distinctly native criminal class except Congress.”

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“Don’t go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.”

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“Go to Heaven for the climate, Hell for the company.”

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“It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one’s mouth and remove all doubt.”

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“A man is never more truthful than when he acknowledges himself a liar.”

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“A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no other way. “

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“In the first place, God made idiots. That was for practice. Then he made school boards.”

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“Good friends, good books and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life.”

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“Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please.”

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“Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.”

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“Apparently there is nothing that cannot happen today.”

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“Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear.”

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“Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth isn’t.”

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“The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.”

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“Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society.”

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“There are lies, damned lies and statistics.”

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“The lack of money is the root of all evil.”

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“A man’s character may be learned from the adjectives which he habitually uses in conversation.”

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“When we remember we are all mad, the mysteries disappear and life stands explained.”

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“All you need is ignorance and confidence and the success is sure.”

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“My mother had a great deal of trouble with me, but I think she enjoyed it.”

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“The only way to keep your health is to eat what you don’t want, drink what you don’t like, and do what you’d rather not.”

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“The most interesting information comes from children, for they tell all they know and then stop.”

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“Life would be infinitely happier if we could only be born at the age of eighty and gradually approach eighteen.”

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“Against the assault of laughter nothing can stand.”

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“The trouble ain’t that there is too many fools, but that the lightning ain’t distributed right.”

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“I didn’t attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it.”

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“Substitute “damn” every time you’re inclined to write “very”; your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be.”

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“When angry, count to four; when very angry, swear.”

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“Don’t tell fish stories where the people know you; but particularly, don’t tell them where they know the fish.”

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‘There are basically two types of people. People who accomplish things, and people who claim to have accomplished things. The first group is less crowded.”

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“A person with a new idea is a crank until the idea succeeds.”

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“I don’t give a damn for a man that can only spell a word one way.”

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“Let us live so that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry.”

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“It’s no wonder that truth is stranger than fiction. Fiction has to make sense.”

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“It is curious that physical courage should be so common in the world and moral courage so rare.”

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“The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.”

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“The man who is a pessimist before 48 knows too much; if he is an optimist after it, he knows too little.”

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“The public is the only critic whose opinion is worth anything at all.”

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“I haven’t a particle of confidence in a man who has no redeeming petty vices whatsoever.”

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‘Reader, suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself.”

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“The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter—’tis the difference between the lightning-bug and the lightning.”

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“Humor is the great thing, the saving thing. The minute it crops up, all our hardnesses yield, all our irritations and resentments flit away and a sunny spirit takes their place.”

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“I was sorry to have my name mentioned as one of the great authors, because they have a sad habit of dying off. Chaucer is dead, Spencer is dead, so is Milton, so is Shakespeare, and I’m not feeling so well myself.”

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“Always do right. This will gratify some people, and astonish the rest.”

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“The only reason why God created man is because he was disappointed with the monkey.”

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“Thunder is good, thunder is impressive; but it is lightning that does the work.”

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“Always acknowledge a fault frankly. This will throw those in authority off their guard and give you opportunity to commit more.”

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“Thousands of geniuses live and die undiscovered — either by themselves or by others. But for the Civil War, Lincoln and Grant and Sherman and Sheridan would not have been discovered, nor have risen into notice. … I have touched upon this matter in a small book which I wrote a generation ago and which I have not published as yet — Captain Stormfield’s Visit to Heaven. When Stormfield arrived in heaven he … was told that … a shoemaker … was the most prodigious military genius the planet had ever produced.”

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“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts.” The Innocents Abroad, 1869

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“He had discovered a great law of human action, without knowing it — namely, that in order to make a man or a boy covet a thing, it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to obtain.” The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, 1876

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“Work consists of whatever a body is OBLIGED to do, and…Play consists of whatever a body is not obliged to do.” The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, 1876

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“France has neither winter nor summer nor morals. Apart from these drawbacks it is a fine country.”

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“Familiarity breeds contempt — and children.”

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“In the beginning of a change, the patriot is a scarce man, and brave, and hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a patriot”

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“Never let your schooling interfere with your education.”

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“Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.”

“Although a soldier by profession, I have never felt any sort of fondness for war, and I have never advocated it, except as a means of peace.”

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“I appreciate the fact, and am proud of it, that the attentions I am receiving are intended more for our country than for me personally.”

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“If you see the President, tell him from me that whatever happens there will be no turning back.”

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“In every battle there comes a time when both sides consider themselves beaten, then he who continues the attack wins.”

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“Labor disgraces no man; unfortunately, you occasionally find men who disgrace labor.”

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“Nations, like individuals, are punished for their transgressions.”

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“The art of war is simple enough. Find out where your enemy is. Get at him as soon as you can. Strike him as hard as you can, and keep moving on.”

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“The friend in my adversity I shall always cherish most. I can better trust those who helped to relieve the gloom of my dark hours than those who are so ready to enjoy with me the sunshine of my prosperity.”

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“Every human being, of whatever origin, of whatever station, deserves respect. We must each respect others even as we respect ourselves.”

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“The right of revolution is an inherent one. When people are oppressed by their government, it is a natural right they enjoy to relieve themselves of oppression, if they are strong enough, whether by withdrawal from it, or by overthrowing it and substituting a government more acceptable.”

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“…but for a soldier his duty is plain. He is to obey the orders of all those placed over him and whip the enemy wherever he meets him.”

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“Leave the matter of religion to the family altar, the church, and the private school, supported entirely by private contributions. Keep the church and state forever separate.”

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“There never was a time when, in my opinion, some way could not be found to prevent the drawing of the sword.”

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“Everyone has his superstitions. One of mine has always been when I started to go anywhere, or to do anything, never to turn back or to stop until the thing intended was accomplished.”

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“I never held a council of war in my life. I heard what men had to say – the stream of talk at headquarters – but I made up my own mind, and from my written orders my staff got their first knowledge of what was to be done. No living man knew of plans”

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“I have acted in every instance from a conscientious desire to do what was right, constitutional, within the law, and for the very best interests of the whole people. Failures have been errors of judgment, not of intent.”

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“The one thing I never want to see again is a military parade. When I resigned from the army and went to a farm I was happy. When the rebellion came, I returned to the service because it was a duty. I had no thought of rank; all I did was try and make”

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“No terms except an unconditional and immediate surrender can be accepted. I propose to move immediately upon your works.”To General S.B. Buckner, Fort Donelson, February 16, 1862

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“God gave us Lincoln and Liberty, let us fight for both.”A toast made by Grant before his operations in the Vicksburg Campaign, February 22, 1863

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“I propose to fight it out on this line, if it takes all summer.”Dispatch to Washington, during the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House. May 11, 1864

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“I propose to receive the surrender of the Army of N. Va. on the following terms, to wit: Rolls of all the officers and men to be made in duplicate. One copy to be given to an officer designated by me, the other to be retained by such officer or officers as you may designate. The officers to give their individual paroles not to take up arms against the Government of the United States until properly exchanged, and each company or regimental commander sign a like parole for the men of their commands. The arms, artillery and public property to be parked and stacked, and turned over to the officer appointed by me to receive them. This will not embrace the side-arms of the officers, nor their private horses or baggage. This done, each officer and man will be allowed to return to their homes, not to be disturbed by United States authority so long as they observe their paroles and the laws in force where they may reside.”Terms of surrender, given to General Robert E. Lee after the Battle of Appomattox Courthouse, April 9, 1865

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“Though I have been trained as a soldier, and participated in many battles, there never was a time when, in my opinion, some way could not be found to prevent the drawing of the sword. I look forward to an epoch when a court, recognized by all nations, will settle international differences, instead of keeping large standing armies as they do in Europe.”

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“The will of the people is the best law.”

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“Oh, I am heartily tired of hearing about what Lee is going to do. Some of you always seem to think he is suddenly going to turn a double somersault, and land in our rear and on both of our flanks at the same time. Go back to your command, and try to think what we are going to do ourselves, instead of what Lee is going to do.”

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I had known General Lee in the old army, and had served with him in the Mexican War; but did not suppose, owing to the difference in our age and rank, that he would remember me, while I would more naturally remember him distinctly, because he was the chief of staff of General Scott in the Mexican War.

When I had left camp that morning I had not expected so soon the result that was then taking place, and consequently was in rough garb. I was without a sword, as I usually was when on horseback on the field, and wore a soldier’s blouse for a coat, with the shoulder straps of my rank to indicate to the army who I was. When I went into the house I found General Lee. We greeted each other, and after shaking hands took our seats. I had my staff with me, a good portion of whom were in the room during the whole of the interview.

What General Lee’s feelings were I do not know. As he was a man of much dignity, with an impassible face, it was impossible to say whether he felt inwardly glad that the end had finally come, or felt sad over the result, and was too manly to show it. Whatever his feelings, they were entirely concealed from my observation; but my own feelings, which had been quite jubilant on the receipt of his letter, were sad and depressed. I felt like anything rather than rejoicing at the downfall of a foe who had fought so long and valiantly, and had suffered so much for a cause, though that cause was, I believe, one of the worst for which a people ever fought, and one for which there was the least excuse. I do not question, however, the sincerity of the great mass of those who were opposed to us.

Our conversation grew so pleasant that I almost forgot the object of our meeting. After the conversation had run on in this style for some time, General Lee called my attention to the object of our meeting, and said that he had asked for this interview for the purpose of getting from me the terms I proposed to give his army. I said that I meant merely that his army should lay down their arms, not to take them up again during the continuance of the war unless duly and properly exchanged. He said that he had so understood my letter. Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant, 1885

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“The cause of the great War of the Rebellion against the United Status will have to be attributed to slavery. For some years before the war began it was a trite saying among some politicians that “A state half slave and half free cannot exist.” All must become slave or all free, or the state will go down. I took no part myself in any such view of the case at the time, but since the war is over, reviewing the whole question, I have come to the conclusion that the saying is quite true.”

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We must go back to the campaigns of Napoleon to find equally brillant results accomplished in the same space of time with such a small loss.Francis Vinton Greene in The Mississippi (1882) on Grant’s role in the Vicksburg campaign

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If Grant only does this thing right down there — I don’t care how, so long as he does it right — why, Grant is my man and I am his the rest of the war!Abraham Lincoln on Grant’s Vicksburg campaign, July 5, 1863

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I wish some of you would tell me the brand of whiskey that Grant drinks. I would like to send a barrel of it to my other generals.Statement attributed to Abraham Lincoln in response to complaints about Grant’s drinking habits, November 1863

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“He (Grant) habitually wears an expression as if he had determined to drive his head through a brick wall, and was about to do it.”Col. Theodore Lyman. in Meade’s headquarters, 1863-1865

“I think it’s the mark of a great player to be confident in tough situations.”

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“The important thing is to learn a lesson every time you lose. Life is a learning process and you have to try to learn what’s best for you. Let me tell you, life is not fun when you’re banging your head against a brick wall all the time.”

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“What is the single most important quality in a tennis champion? I would have to say desire, staying in there and winning matches when you are not playing that well.”

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“I’ll let the racket do the talking.”

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“I’d like to think I could have and should have won more, but that’s not the point. And I was at the point where I was playing great tennis in the mid 80s – the type of tennis people hadn’t seen before – and I was very proud of that.”

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“If, in a few months, I’m only number 8 or number 10 in the world, I’ll have to look at what off-the-court work I can do. I will need to do something if I want to be number 1.”

“Clothes and manners do not make the man; but when he is made, they greatly improve his appearance.”

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“From what we get, we can make a living; what we give, however, makes a life.”

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“I don’t care who you are, you’re going to choke in certain matches. You get to a point where your legs don’t move and you can’t take a deep breath. You start to hit the ball about a yard wide, instead of inches.”

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“I don’t want to be remembered for my tennis accomplishments.”

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“I have tried to keep on with my striving because this is the only hope I have of ever achieving anything worthwhile and lasting.”

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“I keep sailing on in this middle passage. I am sailing into the wind and the dark. But I am doing my best to keep my boat steady and my sails full.”

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I may not be walking with you all the way, or even much of the way, as I walk with you now.

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“If you’re paid before you walk on the court, what’s the point in playing as if your life depended on it?”

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“Later, I discovered there was a lot of work to being good in tennis.”

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“My potential is more than can be expressed within the bounds of my race or ethnic identity.”

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“One important key to success is self-confidence. An important key to self-confidence is preparation.”

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“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.”

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“Success is a journey, not a destination. The doing is often more important than the outcome.”

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“The ideal attitude is to be physically loose and mentally tight.”

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“Trust has to be earned, and should come only after the passage of time.”

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“We must believe in the power of education. We must respect just laws. We must love ourselves, our old and or young, our women as well as our men.”

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“We must reach out our hand in friendship and dignity both to those who would befriend us and those who would be our enemy.”

“I look into their eyes, shake their hand, pat their back, and wish them luck, but I am thinking, ‘I am going to bury you.”

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“To give yourself the best possible chance of playing to your potential, you must prepare for every eventuality. That means practice.”

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“I know where I am and I know which way I’m going, … Only winning will satisfy me. You don’t think it is possible? It is very possible.”

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“I don’t see any players who really impress me from either side of the Atlantic, to be honest. There are a lot of players with great talent and a great future ahead. But impress me? I don’t get impressed that easily.”

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“I’d like to see the fairways more narrow. Then everyone would have to play from the rough, not just me.”

“Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.”

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“Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved.”

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“I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish small tasks as if they were great and noble.”

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“It is a terrible thing to see and have no vision.”

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“Life is a succession of lessons which must be lived to be understood.”

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“Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.”

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“True happiness… is not attained through self-gratification, but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.”

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“My share of the work may be limited, but the fact that it is work makes it precious.”

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“Never bend your head. Always hold it high. Look the world straight in the eye.”

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“Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.”

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“People do not like to think. If one thinks, one must reach conclusions. Conclusions are not always pleasant.”

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“The highest result of education is tolerance.”

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“Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light.”

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“We can do anything we want to if we stick to it long enough.”

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“While they were saying among themselves it cannot be done, it was done.”

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“One can never consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar.”

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“We differ, blind and seeing, one from another, not in our senses, but in the use we make of them, in the imagination and courage with which we seek wisdom beyond the senses.”

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“Tyranny cannot defeat the power of ideas.”

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“Miss Sullivan touched my forehead and spelled with decided emphasis, “Think.” In a flash I knew that the word was the name of the process that was going on in my head. This was my first conscious perception of an abstract idea. For a long time I was still … trying to find a meaning for “love” in the light of this new idea. The sun had been under a cloud all day, and there had been brief showers; but suddenly the sun broke forth in all its southern splendour. Again I asked my teacher, “Is this not love?”

“Love is something like the clouds that were in the sky before the sun came out,” she replied. Then in simpler words than these, which at that time I could not have understood, she explained:

“You cannot touch the clouds, you know; but you feel the rain and know how glad the flowers and the thirsty earth are to have it after a hot day. You cannot touch love either; but you feel the sweetness that it pours into everything. Without love you would not be happy or want to play.”

The beautiful truth burst upon my mind — I felt that there were invisible lines stretched between my spirit and the spirits of others.”

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“No matter how dull, or how mean, or how wise a man is, he feels that happiness is his indisputable right.”

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“A happy life consists not in the absence, but in the mastery of hardships.”

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“Many persons have a wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.”